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Nightwatchers
The Nightwatchers are one of the Three Great Guardian Clans, along with the Untitled Sages and Gravekeepers. They were reputed to be the strongest Guardian clan before the invention of lightbulbs severely weakened their power, causing them to forfeit that title to the Gravekeepers. Background Before the invention of artificial lighting, humans feared the darkness and chose to shut themselves within their houses when night falls and escape from reality through sleeping. When night falls, monsters roam the world freely. The Nightwatchers, who are the only humans that remain active during the night, are responsible for keeping these monsters under control under the ruse of "watching the night". Being capable of monitoring all the monsters within thousands of miles, the Nightwatchers were crowned as "Night Conquerors" due to their immense power and dominance over monsters and demons alike. At some point in time, the Nightwatcher clan separated into multiple families and scattered across China, with the members who had the purest heritages splitting into two main branch families, one resided in the North while the other resided in the South. The other families who didn't possess bloodlines as pure as the main branch families were considered side branch families and inferior. According to Bao Huajuan, this prejudice once caused conflicts between the main branch and side branch families that almost wiped out the side branch families entirely. Before the invention of lightbulbs, which was before 1879, the Nightwatchers considered themselves the strongest guardians, as a result they were egotistical and couldn't care less about the other two Guardian clans. After the year 1879, the use of lightbulbs significantly weakened the powers they possess at night since there is no more absolute darkness after the widespread usage of artificial lighting, and resulted in them forfeiting the title of "the strongest Guardian clan" to the Gravekeepers. Overview Structure The Nightwatcher clan is composed of two main branch families (宗支): the Northern main branch family (北方家族) and the Southern main branch family (南方家族), and numerous side branch families (分支). The main branch families are responsible for selecting and sending the strongest Nightwatcher from one the two families to the Department of Night as a representative of the Nightwatcher clan, while the side branch families are responsible for sending their Nightwatchers to governmental agencies, if needed, to take care of sudden supernatural incidents that the Department of Night isn't available for. Traditions The two main branch families host an annual Demon Flag Awakening Ceremony that examines the new generation of Nightwatchers' potential. During the ceremony, participants, who are generally eight to ten years old (which is stated to be the optimal age for Nightwatchers to awaken the power to control Demon Flags) take a normally forbidden steroid that will awaken their latent powers and allow them to control the maximum amount of Demon Flags possible for them. However, the steroid is stated to dangerous for those who are physically weak, and even might end up physically disabling the consumer. Those who fail to control a Demon Flag during the ceremony are allowed to participate again until they reach the age of ten, if they still fail to meet the one Flag requirement, they will permanently lose their chance to become a Nightwatcher and will end up as a lackey in the family. Master Lan stated that only those who possess a pure enough bloodline can control Demon Flags, and that the amount can increase through hard work. He also stated that one Flag is enough to meet the requirement of a Nightwatcher, and those who can control more than three Demon Flags are considered being "doted by the heavens" since it's extremely difficult to control more Demon Flags afterwards. According to Sui Fenger, cousins in the two main branch families were allowed to marry each other before the year 1949, which is when the People's Republic of China was established. This tradition was forbidden after it was made illegal nationally. Morals Nightwatchers are widely feared by monsters for their ability to enslave them for eternity using Demon Flags, as Flag Demons are forced to serve under their master and are no longer able to reincarnate if they die. Nightwatchers are fairly lenient, as they prefer to capture monsters if they didn't committed any crimes involving deaths of humans, and are even supportive of peaceful relationships between humans and monsters. But if a monster were to commit murder, Nightwatchers will, and are allowed to execute them. According to Ye Yan, Nightwatchers are not allowed to order Flag Demons to attack ordinary humans, as it is against the rules within the clan. The most derogatory term to call a Nightwatcher is a "Gong Player" (敲锣的), as seen when Ye Yan became extremely angry and called Huang Xiaoyan a "Half Sage" (半仙), an equally derogative term for Untitled Sages, when she called him that. Abilities and Weapons Weapons * Sou Gong.png|Soul Gong Soul Mallet.jpg|Soul Mallet Screen Shot 2018-04-02 at 2.24.17 PM.png|Demon Flags Soul Gong (镇魂锣): A main branch Nightwatcher exclusive weapon. If struck by the Soul Mallet, it can produce a sound that either renders anyone within close proximity to the gong unconscious or temporarily immobilizes anyone who heard the sound other than Nightwatchers, who have certain levels of immunity to the sound produced. However, if repeatedly struck, the immunity will start to weaken and eventually the Nightwatcher themselves will be affected by the sound, showing signs such as extreme fatigue and nose bleeding. Even if they are shattered, Soul Gongs can still produce the immobilizing sound if the pieces are taped back together and can be welded back together through unknown methods. The immobilizing effect only works on the receivers' bodies, therefore it can't stop someone from mentally controlling or summoning a weapon. * Soul Mallet (镇魂锤): A main branch Nightwatcher exclusive weapon, it can be used to strike the Soul Gong to create an immobilizing sound or physical attacks. When a Nightwatcher experiences true darkness, they become Night Conquerors and the Soul Mallet's power increases drastically, capable of producing large explosions when hitting inorganic substances and destroying a monster's soul along with its body in one direct hit. * Demon Flags (煌妖幡): A Nightwatcher exclusive weapon, it is used to capture monsters, atomize their bodies into green smoke along with their soul and enslave them as Flag Demons for eternity. Flag Demons are capable of making themselves invisible and intangible by turning themselves into green smoke, they are also able to solidify themselves to deal a surprise attack. Nightwatchers are also able to telepathically communicate with their Flag Demons within a few hundred meters. According to Wang Shengli, a Nightwatcher that can control more than four flags is able to store three Flag Demons at most in one flag. Nightwatchers are also capable of telekinetically moving Demon Flags within a few dozen meters, which they use to hide their flags around the battlefield for sneak attacks from their Flag Demons. Main branch Nightwatchers possess purer bloodlines, allowing them to control multiple Demon Flags, while side branch Nightwatchers don't possess bloodlines as pure, with presumably all of them capable of controlling one Demon Flag at most. Abilities Screen Shot 2018-04-02 at 3.53.19 PM.png|Chi Shock Timed Knockout.png|Time Knockout 20180120135106 5255wjayuwum small 2.jpg|Penta-Shockwave Night Conqueror.jpg|Night Conqueror * Chi Shock (元气震): A technique that must meet a lot of requirements in order to be used effectively. While using this move, the Nightwatcher's eyes will glow and cause every living creature within a certain radius to faint, the time a person remains unconscious depends how mentally strong that person is. The Nightwatcher who uses this technique must store up enough rage or despair to use this technique, and after using it they will faint themselves (though they will usually wake up before the receivers due to a temporary buff in immunity). This technique does not work on organisms that were unconscious before the move was used, on organisms that are alertly focused on the user, or Flag Demons that are inside Demon Flags. * Timed Knockout (定时锤): A technique that can be used to render someone unconscious for a specific period of time by controlling one's strength while hitting the receiver over the head with a blunt object such as a log, a brick, or the Soul Mallet. The duration of unconsciousness in one hit can range from a second to an hour, but a combo of hits can extend the duration. The effect of the technique doesn't work on organisms alertly focused on the user. * Time Guessing Pinch (掐心算点): By pinching their fingers, a Nightwatcher can get a rough estimate of what time it is, even if the environment doesn't change at all. However, this technique can't tell the date. * Animal Mimicry (仿生口技): A basic technique learned by Nightwatchers. They can disguise their presence and distract people by mimicking the sound of an animal. * Muscle Contracting Hemostasis (止血收肌法): A technique that a Nightwatcher can use. By contracting their muscles around a deep wound, they can stop the bleeding. * Penta-Shockwave (五方烈震): By slamming the Soul Mallet onto the ground, a Nightwatcher can create a shockwave strong enough to send debris flying everywhere, this move is typically used to create an opening for attacks. * Night Conqueror (黑夜主宰): The ultimate form achievable by a Nightwatcher. Due to the invention of lights, there is no more literal darkness, which made the Nightwatchers' strength devolve over time. However, when experiencing true darkness, a talented Nightwatcher will awaken their latent powers and become a Night Conqueror, donning an attire similar to Ye Chong's by manifesting it through energy alone. As a Night Conqueror, Nightwatchers gain a significant boost in power, as a simple toss from their Soul Mallets can create a gigantic explosion, and a sixth sense that is able to accurately detect things in the darkness, regardless of the other five senses. They also gain an aura similar to Ximen Guanren's Leader Aura, which makes demons and monsters submissive towards them. The power gained by a Nightwatcher while in this mode is dependent on the number of Demon Flags they can wield (which is influenced by the purity of their heritage or hard work), as shown when a Night Conqueror wielding five Demon Flags was easily defeated by Che Yongtai's previous incarnation while Ye Yan, a wielder of eight Demon Flags is stated to be stronger than a demon lord at their prime by Left-hand Man. Members Ye Yan: The current representative guardian of the Nightwatcher clan and the main branch families. Born in the Northern main branch family. Wields eight Demon Flags. A student from Bozhou's Xiahou High School who's secretly part of the Department of Night. Ye Lanlan: Cousin of Ye Yan. Born in the Southern main branch family. Wields seven Demon Flags. Currently hospitalized after receiving radiation therapy to cure her cancer. Bao Huajuan: A Nightwatcher guardian from a side branch Nightwatcher family. Wields one Demon Flag. A police officer in Bozhou's Police Department. Ye Chong: The representative guardian of the Nightwatcher clan back in 1782. Born in the Northern main branch family. Wields four Demon Flags. Was sent to resolve the Yun Zhonghe incident. Three: A Nightwatcher from a main branch family. Wields three Demon Flags. He was part of Sun, a secret organization plotting to obtain the Heaven Crystal by using the Department of Night. Ye Liao: The representative guardian of the Nightwatcher clan back in 1860. Wields five Demon Flags. He was part of the group that assassinated Che Yongtai's previous incarnation. Married to Xiahou Shan. Xiahou Shan: A thief who was part of the assassination team sent to assassinated Che Yongtai's previous incarnation. Married to Ye Liao and became part of the main branch Nightwatcher family. Trivia Nightwatchers and their weapons are based off ancient Chinese watchmen. They were responsible for reminding the time for the people who were still awake at night by sounding a gong they carry around at night with a mallet while yelling out the time, they were also responsible for catching thieves and warning of a fire if they happen to spot one.Category:Groups Category:Nightwatchers